St. John Paul II was a pilgrim across nations, ideologies, and human experience. He confronted tyranny without weapons, spoke truth without fear, and bore suffering with grace.
During St. John Paul II's first pastoral visit to the country in 1981, the pope visited the RVA auditorium in Manila on February 21. Standing before microphones that carried broadcasts in numerous Asian languages, he addressed listeners across the continent.
If he were alive today, he would have reiterated those words from his address to the UN General Assembly in 1965, "No more war, and war never again! Peace, it is peace which must guide the destinies of people and of all mankind."
When Pope Paul VI stepped onto Asian soil in 1970, he was doing more than making a pastoral visit. He was signaling a shift in how the Catholic Church viewed its global mission.
